Red Bull have now come under fire over an ‘irrational’ aspect of the Formula 1 team’s decision to demote Liam Lawson back to Racing Bulls while promoting Yuki Tsunoda.
Confirmation arrived on Thursday morning that Red Bull saw enough from Lawson after only two rounds of the season to believe he could not adapt to their car and that the best course of action was for the 23-year-old to re-join Racing Bulls and pull a U-turn regarding Tsunoda.
Red Bull took Lawson over Tsunoda to replace Sergio Perez in December after the Mexican’s miserable term cost them the F1 constructors’ championship. But, now, the 24-year-old is in favour with Lawson’s struggles with the RB21 seeing Red Bull slip from the title fight already.
Max Verstappen has so far been a one-man team at Red Bull for the third term running. The four-time defending drivers’ champion has coped with the RB21’s sharp front end and loose rear enough to take P2 in Australia and P4 in China but he also rues its inconsistent balance.
Red Bull told it was ‘irrational’ to demote Liam Lawson after races in Australia and China
So, to help improve their championship position and the RB21, Tsunoda will replace Lawson at Red Bull from the Japanese Grand Prix. Team principal Christian Horner particularly feels Tsunoda’s experience can help the Milton Keynes outfit unlock more of their car’s potential.
READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know
But IndyCar Series star Scott McLaughlin has now questioned Red Bull’s decision to demote Lawson back to Racing Bulls. The New Zealander claims it was ‘irrational’ of the team to axe his compatriot after two rounds as Lawson had not driven in Melbourne or Shanghai before.
He said on X: “Here’s a take that you didn’t ask for, two tracks they gave Liam in that car that he hadn’t been to before. Finally, [he] heads to Suzuka where, perhaps, he knows that track more than most on the calendar due to racing in Japan etc. But [he] gets axed before it?
“It’s a cruel sport, but I really don’t think he was given a fair shot IMO. OK, if he goes bad at Suzuka, I get the change-up. But give the kid a chance if you are going to throw him in the deep end against a four-time world champ to begin with!
“Why even give him the shot in the first place if you aren’t going to ride the wave? Nothing against Yuki and I think he’s a shoe, but the Red Bull game is ruthless/irrational. I look forward to the next instalment of this broken system.”
Japanese GP could have been Liam Lawson’s turning point given his Suzuka experience
Lawson had never driven around Albert Park or the Shanghai International Circuit before he contested the 2025 Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix in his first two races in Red Bull’s tricky car. Neither track was in the F2 or F3 calendars while he raced in the series.
Both circuits only joined the feeder series’ schedules in 2023 when Lawson had moved over to the Japanese Super Formula Championship. Lawson’s spells at AlphaTauri in 2023 for five rounds and RB for six rounds in 2024 also came after Formula 1 visited Australia and China.
So, Lawson might have hoped Red Bull would be more forgiving about his issues at the 2025 Australian and Chinese Grands Prix to at least also do the Japanese Grand Prix. But Red Bull grew frustrated with Lawson’s lack of progress and also his lack of understanding over why.
Suzuka, the home of the Japanese Grand Prix, may have yielded a turning point for Lawson as he contested three races of the 2023 Super Formula campaign at Honda’s track. He even took pole and came second in the season-finale at Suzuka to claim second in the standings.
